


The Undying

by AmBecca



Category: The Strain (TV), The Strain Trilogy - Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan
Genre: Abuse, Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Blood and Gore, Depression, F/M, Fluff, Multi, NSFW, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PTSD, Suicidal Thoughts, strigoi, woman of color
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:41:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25190314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmBecca/pseuds/AmBecca
Summary: Kali is the bastard child of her mother and another man. She lives with her mother, her mothers husband, and her half brother at a farm in the middle of Texas. Her brother, Kyle, is handed everything on a gold platter. Kali, is treated like garbage. It's an awful life for Kali. On her way home from an emergency trip to the shop two hours away, she stumbles across something in the setting sun.
Kudos: 6





	The Undying

**Author's Note:**

> || Hi y'all! So recently, I got /really/ into The Strain. I'm writing this mainly for myself. Enjoy! Leave thoughts and good wishes for me.

Kali never found passion for her kind, and the feeling only grew worse when the so-called ‘plague’ hit. She is still in Texas when she hears the news. She is at work on her parents farm, tending to the anxious farm animals. Yet, she cannot quite pin the point of their anxiety. Her phone chimes out, begging for her attention from her back right butt pocket.

Pushing stray black strands from her sweaty forehead, she quickly retrieves the smartphone. Using her right thumb to turn on the screen, she squints against its lack of light. Her eyes widen in disbelief when she reads the text across her screen.The title of the article mentions a large plane landing in New York, with it’s two hundred odd passengers arriving dead. Her emerald gaze darts to the farm animals, then to the house a ways out, towards the south of her direction.

She can see a figure in the distance, frantically waving Kali over. She drops her tools, ushering the animals back into their stalls as she pockets her phone. After she locks them in, she uses her keys to secure the lock on the barn door. When her attention turns back to the house, the figure is no longer there.

Albeit the fear sinking into her stomach, Kali starts a steady paces towards the house. The afternoon sun is warm and overbearing, causing her to use her right hand as shade over her eyes. She curses her love of the outdoors, regretting her decline of bringing her horse with her.

Star is a dark brown Paso FIno; Kali’s most prized companion. It takes a few minutes for her to arrive, but Kali finally arrives home. Huffing from a short sprint, she practically kicks down the front door. She finds her mother and father in the living room, looming over her little brother. Kyle is resting on the long couch, barely breathing.

Her father whips his head in Kali’s direction, anger blooming on his face. Before she can speak, he bellows, “Where the fuck have you been?” Her mother flinches, not turning to face her adult daughter. Kali meekly replies, “I’m sorry, father. I had to lock up the animals.” It’s Kali’s turn to flinch, as her father takes a long stride towards her. Instead of striking her, he grabs her by both of her shoulders.

Lowering his voice into a threat, he speaks, “Your brother was attacked by something. I need you to go to the city, and go buy some meds for him. I’m counting on you, girl.” Her mother finally turns to look at her, eyes swollen from crying. “Please, Kali. Do it for Kyle! We’ll stay here and watch him. You go on and take Star. Hurry along, now.”

As if she no longer exists, her parents turn their attention back onto the boy. Kali bites down on her lower lip, retreating to her room in the basement. She grabs her backpack, throwing in stuff she may need. Food, water, extra clothes, her silver hunting knife, a separate bag for the medicine, spare ammo and her dual M1911 pistols. Holstering the twins onto the outside of either thighs, she begrudgingly returns upstairs. There are no exchanges of words, no wishes of luck for their daughter.

Bitterness toils in her heart, forcing Kali to swallow the lump quickly forming in her throat. She quickly walks out the front door, slamming it shut in her wake. Rushing to the stable about fifty feet away from the house, she sadly greets Star. Resting her right hand against his left cheek, she speaks to him in a low tone, “Sorry, boy. I know today was supposed to be a rest, but we gotta head back out.”

He neighs, as if responding to her. Muscle memory makes it easy to saddle him up, and before she knows it, they’re on the start of their ride. It’s a two hour ride either way, making it somewhat of a chore for the both of them. They keep on a steady pace, covering ground without wasting too much energy.

When Star gets too tired to carry her, Kali reluctantly slides off his back. She rewards him with water and some carrots, throwing in some pets for good measure. After taking a moment to grab the reins and carefully wrapping it around her right hand, she leads Star onwards. They’re almost there when Star suddenly stops in his tracks. He rears onto his hind legs, almost dragging Kali towards him.

She digs her heels into the ground underneath her, shouting at Star to calm down. He releases a human like scream, eyes rolling in apparent fear. What the hell is going on? She doesn’t get a chance to think about it, as another scream comes from somewhere nearby. The sun is still high and shining, casting shadows from trees that are grown near the familiar path. What isn’t familiar, is the person crouched in one of those shadows.

Did Star get startled by them? Still struggling to control her horse, she squints her eyes in an attempt to gain a better view of the person. They’re moving oddly, body hunched over, head twitching violently every couple of seconds. She can’t pinpoint why just looking at them makes her stomach churn. Every fiber in her body is telling her to run away. And that is what she intends to do.

Star manages to calm down enough, allowing Kali to jump back onto his back. The demeanor of the person changes, taking a quick step into the son. The smell of burning flesh suddenly fills Kali’s nose, earning a loud gag from the female. Loud screeches follow the smell, the person lunging back into the shade of the large tree. They writhe on the ground, kicking up dirt as smoke rises from their face.

Kali urges her horse forward, bolting past the screaming heap of a person. In the split second it takes for Star to run past the person, something surreal happens. A long tongue-like appendage slips from the person's wide mouth, and while Kali doesn’t get a good look, she swears there are several stingers on the end. She winces as her horse screams yet again, spurring forward at a faster rate. It doesn’t take long until there is some good distance between them.

Star slows to a stop, having exhausted his energy. Kali wants to walk, but the nagging feeling in her head forces her to slow down Star to a trot. He does so, nodding his head as Kali leans over, using her right hand to guide some carrots into his mouth. As they continue their slow pace, Kali takes the time to study their surroundings.

Speaking out loud, she says, “Okay, so the town should be a few minutes away now, I think I can see some of the shop lights. Should have a couple hours worth of sun left, if we’re lucky.” It’s winter, making the chilly Texas days shorter than normal. On the outskirts of town are some horse posts, available for riders to tie down their steeds outside of the town's hustle and bustle. Kali does her normal routine, tying Star to the post closest to the communal water bucket.

Shouldering her pack onto her back, and double checking that the twins are still strapped to her thighs, she pulls up the sleeves of her long sleeved shirt. Time to get to work. She pushes the old metal door inwards, taking a step into the general shop. “Hiya, Frank! I’m just here for some supplies. You got any pain meds? Anything to help with wounds?”

Frank is an older fella, one that Kali is familiar with. His shop is family owned, and she buys all of her stuff from him. His bald head pokes out of the back room, an arm raised above his head to wave at her. “Kali! Nice ta see ya, girly. We got some new shipments of supplies, ya know where ta find ‘em!”

Her hungry eyes comb the stocked shelves, looking for the items she needs. Pain pills, bandages, rubbing alcohol, items of the sort. She snags a bottle of whiskey, marching her items over to the register, she drops her items onto the counter. Using her left hand to retrieve the wallet in her back left pocket. She’s about to hand over the money when Frank pipes up, “Finally glad that you’re twenty one now, eh? Your pops still givin’ you a hard time?”

Before she can reply, his gaze shimmies down to her neck. Her previous encounter with her father left her ... bruised. Frank visibly bristles, but only shakes his head in anger. Kali knows that the older man hates her father, but she can’t do anything about it. Neither of them can. He slips something extra into the plastic bag, pushing it in her direction. As he silently leaves the counter, she takes a peek into the bag. A small wad of cash catches her eye.

Startled, she withdraws from the back. “Frank, I can’t take this!” How could he think of this, of offering her pity? He shouts back from somewhere within the shop, “Save your money, and get the hell away from that man, Kali. Before he kills you.” Her heart skips a beat in her chest, causing discomfort. WIthout another word, she exits the shop.

It’s quiet outside, with few people walking the streets around her, Kali thinks back on the article from earlier. When was it again? Just a few days prior? Curious as to what else may have happened, she steps off the dirt road, and onto the sidewalk. Lowering the plastic bag to the ground, she pulls her own pack off her back. Placing that down as well, she starts to move the new supplies into her backpack. Crumbling up the plastic bag and shoving it into a nearby trash can, she uses her right hand to grab her phone from its usual pocket.

The time is what catches her eye. It had been two thirty pm when she left her house, and it was nearly five twenty pm. Panicking, she shoves her phone back into its place. Throwing her pack onto her back, she starts jogging down the sidewalk. It doesn’t take long until she makes it to Star, who happily greets her. Tugging the reins off of the post, she basically hops onto her horse.

As she turns him in the direction of the dirt road, she can’t help but notice the sun getting ready to set. Within the hour, the last light would fade from the sky. Kali only hopes that Star remembers the way home.


End file.
